The Friday Five: August 21, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Editor’s Note: I’m running short on time this Friday, but the tunes are cranking and getting me through the busy day before heading down to NYC for some Acoustic 80’s (featuring Jason Hare of Popdose). I swear it’s an odd coincidence that each tune this week has a title consisting of two words.
The Rolling Stones “Miss You” (from Forty Licks, 2002)
Green Day – “Brain Stew” (mp3) (from Insomniac, 1995)
Billie Holiday – “Blue Moon” (mp3) (from First Issue: The Great American Song Book, 1994)
Rufus & Chaka Khan – “Sweet Thing” (mp3) (from Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, 1975)
Alexisonfire – “Accept Crime” (from Old Crows / Young Cardinals, 2009)
What has got you moving today?
The Friday Five: August 14, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
The Band – “Up on Cripple Creek” (from Greatest Hits, 2000)
I’ll admit that I’ve heard this track covered more often than I’ve heard the original.
Phish – “The Divided Sky” (mp3) (from 2009-03-06: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA, USA, 2009)
In this case, I’ll let the music do the talking.
John Mellencamp – “Jack and Diane” (from The Best That I Could Do 1978-1988, 1997)
Pop Quiz: What unique quality does “Jack and Diane” have in common with Prince & The Revolution‘s “When Doves Cry”?
Jellyfish – “Will You Marry Me” (mp3) (from Fan Club, 2002)
I recently acquired this fantastic collection of demos, outtakes, b-sides and live material from what could easily be my favorite band of the early 90’s. As evidenced by my last.fm chart, I’ve been on a steady diet of Jellyfish ever since. “Will You Marry Me” is easily one of the band’s strongest unreleased tracks and was only performed live.
DJ Shadow – “Mashin’ on the Motorway” (from The Private Press, 2002)
I’ve been a fan of DJ Shadow from the first moments of Entroducing…. in 1996. In the years between solo outtings he released an early singles collection and worked as part of the U.N.K.L.E. project but nothing could compare to what he does best
Side Note: The first person to correctly guess the “Pop Quiz” question gets a copy of Assembly of Dust‘s Some Assembly Required.
What’s up next on your shuffle?
The Friday Five: August 7, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Jason Mraz – “Life Is Wonderful” (from Selections for Friends, 2006)
Originally from his largely (and criminally) ignored Mr. A-Z, “Life Is Wonderful” is a beautiful bit of alliteration.
Wilco – “It’s Just That Simple” (from A.M., 1995)
A fine country ballad from the bands debut.
Chet Atkins – “Steeplechase Lane” (mp3) (from Chet Atkins: Guitar Legend: The RCA Years, 2000)
Originally from the long out of print Chet Atkins Picks on Jerry Reed.
Estelle – “No Substitute Love” (mp3) (from Shine, 2008)
Complete with a tongue in cheek quote from George Michael‘s “Faith” this is pure pop bliss.
Bryan Adams – “Heaven” (from So Far So Good, 1993)
It’s not “All I Need” but it will have to do.
What’s up next on your shuffle?
The Friday Five: July 31, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Nickleback – “How You Remind Me” (from Silver Side Up, 2001)
I don’t know that I would say that I am a Nickleback fan. Truthfully, I am not even sure that I would say that I care for them at all, yet looming in my library is not one but three records by the band. Not quite heavy enough to be considered metal, and far too mainstream to be alternative Nickleback found a home on Top 40 radio and became the new millennium’s answer to Def Leppard. Seriously, putting these guys in the studio with Robert John “Mutt” Lange could yield the best selling record since Thriller. Wait… he produced their latest record. Somehow, I don’t own it.
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman – “Lush Life” (from John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, 1963)
Coltrane and Hartman’s relationship began in the late 1940s while doing stints in Dizzy Gillespie‘s band. The story behind “Lush Life’ goes like this, Coltrane and Hartman had decided on 10 songs for the album, but en route to the studio they heard Nat King Cole on the radio performing “Lush Life”, and Hartman immediately decided that song had to be included on the record. For me, this record stands as quite possibly one of the most romantic albums in recording history. Hartman’s syrupy baritone… Trane’s tenor vocal delivery… this is the real deal. If you’ve not had the pleasure of hearing this recording I implore to you click the link and pick it up, you’ll be glad you did.
Nice & Smooth – “Sometimes I Rhyme Slow” (from Ain’t a Damn Thing Changed, 1991)
The best hip-hop gives you a view into a world that you may otherwise not have access to. As a white kid growing up in upstate New York I was taken by the tales of the struggles of inner-city life. This particular track has always been a favorite, with it’s sample lifted from Tracy Chapman‘s somber “Fast Car” it embodied the hopelessness of dealing with addiction.
Young MC – “Bust a Move” (mp3) (from Stone Cold Rhymin’, 1989)
Okay, you’ve got the tune, here’s the video, commence with the booty shaking… Let’s have some action! Let’s have some asses wigglin’… I want some perfection! Bwaa-ha!
311 – “Love Song” (mp3) (from 50 First Dates, 2004)
Over 36,000 songs in my library… and this is the second time that 311‘s take on The Cure’s classic “Love Song” has made an appearance on The Friday Five in the last six months (no less). Let’s see what I had to say last time it shuffled up…
On occasion a cover song reimagines the original to such a point that it becomes its own unique entity (see John Cale’s “Hallelujah” and Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”) and far surpasses the original. This is one of those cases. As much as I love the original, 311’s sun-drenched take on The Cure track captures the essence for me.Yep, I’d say that again. Oh, wait, I just did! I swear I’m a lazy bastard sometimes… but my guilt is to your benefit as I’m including a bonus track for your evil downloading pleasure! Here is a classic extended remix from a 1989 promo. The Cure – “Love Song (extended remix)” (mp3)
Okay, I’ve shown you mine… you know what to do!The Friday Five: July 24, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Editor’s Note: I’m packing up and heading out early this morning to head to Hershey to see Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews Band tonight. In my absence Matt from Addicted to Vinyl has agreed to fill-in… see ya’ll next week!
Thanks Michael!
I want to start off this edition of the Five by paying tribute to one of Michael’s picks last week – “So Little Kindness” by Huey Lewis & The News. That sucker is proof positive that Huey and the boys still are, and will always be, the coolest. You’ll find that one on Time Flies….The Best of Huey Lewis & The News, if you missed it, but you can also find it on Plan B, their latest studio album to date, and one that comes highly recommended by yours truly.
On with this week’s Five!
Elizabeth and the Catapult – “The Hang Up” (from Taller Children, 2009)
We’ve got a venue here in Cleveland called The Winchester that is a wonderful place to see live music, and a place that you can always count on seeing someone cool in addition to whoever you came out to see. For those that love discovering music, (and isn’t that why we’re all here?) The Winchester is a godsend. I was out for the evening to see Greg Laswell, and also Elizabeth and the Catapult who were on the bill in the opening slot. I had heard the name, definitely was curious to see the band, and instantly became very happy that I had made an effort to get there early. I hope that Verve/Forecast has the horsepower to get this band some exposure, because with the right promotion, I think you’ll be hearing a lot more about Elizabeth and the Catapult in the next year.
Greg Laswell – “High and Low” (from Through Toledo, 2006)Prior to this week’s show, I didn’t own any of Greg Laswell’s stuff, something that very quickly changed after the show. “High and Low” was one of those songs that I instantly remembered liking from when I saw Laswell earlier this year. As someone that really loves sad and dreary songs, “High and Low” is one of the better sad songs I’ve heard in a long time.
Go-Go’s – “Beneath The Blue Sky” (from Talk Show, 1984)
I’ve been talking lots about The Go-Go’s and Jane Wiedlin in the past week with a good friend of mine, who apparently loves The Go-Go’s just a little bit more than I do – as demonstrated by her Go-Go’s inspired email address. Talk Show is arguably the best known album in the Go-Go’s catalog, and yet it is one of the only ones that is out of print. What’s up with that? It’s been on CD at least twice – the original issue, and a mid-90s reissue that quickly went out of print. Insert massive amounts of music fan regret here – I had the reissue, and sold it at some point when I needed money for a car repair job. Little did I know that they were planning to yank it from the store shelves. This is one of my favorite albums from the 80s, although truthfully, I’m more of a Bangles fan.
Rick Springfield – “Oblivious” (from Venus in Overdrive, 2008)
Snicker all that you want, but Rick Springfield has put out some great albums over the years – Living in Oz is probably my favorite from back in the day, and towards the end of the 80s, he dropped Rock of Life, another classic that not enough people heard. The good news is that he’s still making albums that are worth hearing, as recently as last year’s Venus in Overdrive. I never got around to writing about this one for my own site, but I really enjoyed the album a lot. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to it, and this one caught me by surprise on shuffle. Springfield has written some wonderfully dark songs that capture the essence of the inner romantic turmoil that one often faces. This is probably one of his best recent songs in that category. On a side note, I haven’t heard Springfield’s newest release, My Precious Little One. I guess I’m not quite ready to hear Rick singing kid tunes. Maybe next week? We’ll see.
Def Leppard – “Stand Up (Kick Love In Motion” (from Adrenalize, 1992)
While reading a Def Leppard show review earlier this week, I had to snicker at the following comment from one of the readers:
Onto Poison, I don’t like that they had to hold back as to not upstage Def. How could you not let Bret out on the catwalk to do Every Rose?
Answer: They’re probably worried that he’ll hurt himself. I like the Poison hits (which I grew up with) as much as anyone else, but the thought of those serious musicians in Poison “holding back” is comical. By the way, I’ve heard from several people (and it’s mentioned in the review above) that Bret’s voice is pretty roached this summer. That’s kind of a bummer, because Poison do put on a fun show normally, and it sounds like the shows this summer have been average at best.
Speaking of average, I’ve always been a big Def Leppard fan and it bums me out that Joe Elliott just can’t cut it live these days vocally. Sure, he was never the greatest singer, but you could always count on a great live show from Def Lep, and that’s unfortunately no longer the case. I did see them live in 2002 on the X tour, and they kicked ass. On that tour, they were opening most nights with the entire first side of High n’ Dry, which was just as awesome as it sounds like it would be. After that, I saw them a couple more times, including a tour with Journey, who with newly recruited lead singer Jeff Scott Soto, blew the Leps off the stage on a nightly basis.
Adrenalize is the last Def Leppard album that I really enjoyed, and it still gets a good amount of play even now in my world. On a related note, I do highly recommend the new deluxe edition of Pyromania, which has a kick ass second disc featuring a full live show from ’83. And as one that has had that live show on boot for years, it is a classic, let me tell you!
What’s on your shuffle? Thanks to Michael and Pete for the opportunity to guest here today on the Five!
The Friday Five: July 17, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Raphael Saadiq – “Never Give You Up” (feat. Stevie Wonder & CJ Hilton)(from The Way I See It, 2008)
Raphael Saadiq took Neo-Soul to a whole new level with this record. Classic soul with a killer Stevie harmonica solo.
Huey Lewis & The News – “So Little Kindness” (from Time Flies… The Best of Huey Lewis & The News, 1996)
Everyone’s favorite little bar band and the subject of the latest installment of Rock Court over at Popdose (link)
Prince – “Dig U Better Dead” (from Chaos and Disorder, 1996)
Not my favorite, but one of the better tracks from this lackluster effort.
Fall Out Boy – “What a Catch, Donnie” (from Folie à Deux, 2008)Patrick Stump does his best Elvis Costello, only to be trumped by the man himself making an appearance.
Guns N’ Roses – “Paradise City” (from Appetite for Destruction, 1987)
Nice way to tie it up!
What next on your shuffle today?
The Friday Five: July 10, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Foo Fighters – “My Hero” (from The Colour and the Shape, 1997)
One of, if not my absolute favorite Foo Fighters track.
Warrant – “Heaven” (mp3) (from The Best of Warrant, 1996)
We all have our musical skeletons, mine just happen to have lots of hair… 20 years (!!!) later I still love this tune.
Jason Mraz – “Butterfly” (from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., 2008)
Don’t let his sensitive singer-songwriter facade fool you, Mr. A-Z can write some downright dirty tunes. Our example today: a romantic ode to a lapdance…
Wilco – “I’ll Fight” (from Wilco (The Album), 2009)
I just got around to listening to this record yesterday and am looking forward to listening to it again.
Lazlo Bane – “Overkill” (mp3) (from 11 Transistor, 1997)
I vividly recall the first time I heard this… catching the video (when MTV still cared enough about the ‘M’ to do so) and being glued to the television. Opening on the familiar chord progression followed by Colin Hay in a bellboy outfit and giving to what, to this day, is one of my favorite covers ever. Mr. Hay even comes in after the bridge to lend his signature vocal to the final verse. Brilliant finish to today’s five!
Okay, I’ve shown you mine, now show me yours!
The Friday Five: July 3, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Editor’s Note: After a 4 day work week that felt more like 7 it’s time to unwind, but before I start my holiday weekend I’ve got a quick shuffle to share. Have a safe and great Independence Day weekend.
Harvey Danger – “Flagpole Sitta” (from Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?, 1997)
The Gaslight Anthem – “Great Expectations” (mp3) (from The ’59 Sound, 2008)
Van Halen – “Jamie’s Cryin'” (from Van Halen, 1978)
Prince – “Controversy” (from Controversy, 1981)
Bobby Brown – “Roni” (mp3) (from Dance! … Ya Know It, 1989)
What tunes are getting you started today?
The Friday Five: June 26, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
Today my shuffle is a celebration of the King of Pop and the memories tied to his music, I encourage you all to share your five today whether they be related to Michael Jackson or not…The Jackson 5 – “ABC” (mp3) (from Greatest Hits, 1971)
This brings to mind watching the Jackson 5 cartoons with my little brother.
Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (from Thriller, 1982)
I remember watching Clash of the Titans at my Aunt & Uncle’s house followed by my first viewing of the classic video.
Michael Jackson – “Human Nature” (from Thriller, 1982)
Like much of his music, this brings me back to summers spent playing outside, clutching my little red AM radio, devouring all the music of the day.
The Jackson 5 – “The Love You Save” (mp3) (from Greatest Hits, 1971)
One of the first bass lines I ever bothered to sit down and actually learn note for note.
Michael Jackson – “Man in the Mirror” (from Bad, 1987)
My memory of this song changed forever yesterday. Upon hearing the news it was this song that came rushing to me. It bears repeating that despite it all, Michael cared with a child like innocence for the troubled of the world. This is what I will cherish. This as well as his music is what I will share with my children. The legacy of the artist who tried to change the world, and who, to some degree, succeeded.
What’s getting you through the day?The Friday Five: June 19, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
Editor’s Note: I’m happy to turn the reins over to Alan Wilkis for this week’s Friday Five. You can find my review of his stellar latest release Pink and Purple here. See you all back here next week… – Michael
The Five:
Did the iPhone shuffle today for a little Friday 5, and was quite pleased with the selection! It could have been scary, folks… like Norwegian Death Metal, followed by Japanese Noise, followed by Yanni (hey, you never know)… So, thank you SHUFFLE-GODS! – Alan
“In the Stone” (mp3) – Earth, Wind, and Fire
I LOVE EWF, and I especially love this song. The musicianship, production, songwriting, performances are all superb, as is the norm for them. I love how you can hear that the percussion + clavés were recorded in a big room, differently from the rest of the band – it creates such a cool sense of space in such a subtle way… I also love how on the verses, the bass and kick drum lock in so tightly and play something slightly differently every two bars – really keeps things interesting, but in a subtle way…“Journey to Reedham (7AM Mix)” – Squarepusher
I have a distinct memory of the first time I heard this song in college, and it was one of those rare instances of complete and utter musical jaw-dropping. It’s just total ear-candy, so fun to listen to LOUD and/or on headphones especially, drum-programming bliss and a great intro to the insane genius of Squarepusher… The melody and bassline are so simple and so repetitive, but beautiful, and somehow mesh perfectly with the frenetic, totally unpredictable, and awesome drum-programming – I really was floored the first time, and was once again, today.“Apeman” – The Kinks
The Kinks are just the best… I only discovered this song recently but it puts a gigantic smile on my face – instantly memorable, lyrics are hilarious & dripping w/Ray Davies’ characteristic wit… Has that “fed up with the world, I’m getting outta here” vibe – the perfect soundtrack to giving the finger to everyone as you quit your shitty job, Half-Baked style…“La Polka Du Roi” (mp3) – André Popp
André Popp is unreal… If you haven’t dug into him, get familiar! This man was a total crazy genius French composer, classically-trained but w/a real taste for modern tape experiments / studio tricks… He would invent really avant-garde/extremely forward-thinking methods, but he wouldn’t use them in cheesy pretentious ways – no “technique for the sake of technique” a la many others… Rather his music would still come out very listenable and accessible, and fun as all hell.On this song, he had the vocalist sing and record her part – he then played the recording of her voice in reverse and transcribed what the syllables sounded like in reverse. Then he had his singer learn the reverse-melody and reverse-lyrics, and record her singing that… And then played the new reverse recording in reverse, AGAIN! The lyrics wind up being a very peculiar-sounding, but still totally intelligible (if you speak French!)… He did this with a lot of his instruments as well… So weird and so ahead of his time… AND MIND YOU THIS IS LIKE DECADES BEFORE COMPUTERS… I’m talking razor-blade slicing two-inch tape for every little edit… And actually hearing the idea in his head and figuring out how to do it, rather than clicking a button on a laptop…
Also, coincidentally, David Lynch borrowed this technique for all the dream sequences in Twin Peaks… Wonder if he was a fan?
“High Class Slim Came Floatin’ In“ – Tortoise
Tortoise is hands down among my favorite bands in current existence, and are definitely SOMEWHERE on the all-time short-list for me, too… I like to describe Tortoise as the soundtrack to my imagination… I honestly feel like I’m dreaming when I listen to them – so many styles/sounds/genres/decades of music all mushed together seamlessly…This is the first track on their upcoming new record, and I’ve been waiting for this damn thing for YEARS!!!!! So there was quite a lot of anticipation for me, as you could imagine… And lo and behold, I hit play, and THEY DELIVERED… AS USUAL… All the trappings of what I love about Tortoise all boiled down into one awesome tune… Awesome SOUNDS, repetitive but very grooving feel, puts you in a trance and then keeps taking you up and up…
So, yeah, I love Tortoise…
What’s up next on your shuffle?